The protagonist, Terdoo Shande, as the only son, has responsibility thrust on him when his soldier father resigns from the army. His family moved from Ikeja, Lagos to Zaki-Biam, Benue. He begins a journey of helping his parents fend for the family, after his tertiary education. After his graduation, he realises his father’s finance has dwindled, so he takes up paying his sister’s fees through trading.

His first venture into trading was livestock, which he left after not finding job satisfaction. Terdoo later became a thrift collector, and succeeded due to his charm. He managed to draw people, mostly of low-working class to engage in business with him. Meanwhile, his father, Tyovenda Shande is in the frozen fish business with Chief Okonkwo, who encourages Tyovenda to open a branch in Zaki-Biam.

He meets Hembadoon in Goddy’s Inn, who is her uncle. Hembadoon tells Terdoo that she is a single mother and some other things about herself. She later becomes his love interest, and a relationship blossoms between them. Terdoo later makes the acquaintance of Ngozi, who knows he has a girlfriend, but still manages to cause friction between the lovebirds.

Hembadoon becomes unsure of Terdoo’s love for her, and is always trying to test him even with the use of seduction. He refuses her advances because he tells her they are not married. The issue of trust is prevalent, as it is a determining factor in most relationships. Abstinence among youths, which has become a rare thing, is also touched on by Andula. This is very commendable coming from Terdoo as a male, because they always do the asking.

The age-old battle of parents choosing partners for their children can’t be ignored when Kpadoo, Terdoo’s mother is vehemently against his relationship with Hembadoon. She says Hembadoon is used, that she will find a fresh, young maiden for him. Terdoo kicks against this saying he is old enough to find a wife for himself. He is even ready to be disowned by his parents if need be.

Things turn for worse when Denvihin ill-advises Hembadoon in using the services of a native witch-doctor to ‘secure’ Terdoo’s love and attention for her. it turns out Kpadoo was right after all. Terdoo breaks up with her, and refuses her entreaties for them to get back together.

Terdoo’s business takes a downfall, and with the help of his parents, he gets back on his feet.

Andula’s Tears of Rebellion touches on a few societal values, that are considered old-fashioned, but draws the reader’s attention by emphasising that these values are still to be treasured. From the prologue to the end, the book is riddled with a lot of grammatical and typographical errors that could have been avoided. A reprint of the book with corrections is highly advised.